Bhavina Patel is an Indian paralympic athlete and the first Indian to secure a medal at the Paralympics, find out more about her husband and family
Prior to becoming an athlete, Bhavina was reportedly interested in becoming a teacher, but got rejected in an interview due to her physical disability.
Who is para-athlete table tennis player Bhavina Patel, biography, age, mother, husband, disability, state and story
Following her success in sorts, Bhavina secured a job with the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) through a sports quota.
Bhavina Patel bio and age
Bhavina Hasmukhbhai Patel is an Indian para table tennis player who was born on November 6, 1986, in Sundhiya Village, Mehsana, Gujarat, India. She is currently 37 years old and she is the first Indian to secure a medal at the Paralympics after winning a silver at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics in the Women’s Singles Class 4 Category.
Bhavina’s father Hasmukhbhai Patel, owned a small cutlery kiosk, which he ran with the family but the name of her mother isn’t known. At the young age of one, Bhavina suffered from polio, which affected her entire lower body. Bhavina shared how she got Polio from another medication for an illness. Bhavina and her family eventually moved to Ahmedabad in 2004.
Education
Bhavina finished an ITI course from the Blind People’s Association (BPA), in Ahmedabad.
Coach
Bhavina trains under coaches, Lalan Doshi and Tejalben Lakhia.
Husband
Bhavina is married to a businessman named Nikul Patel.
Career and achievements
Bhavina developed an interest in table tennis while studying at BPA, and in 2011, she secured the World No.2 ranking. She attained the ranking after winning a silver at the PTT Thailand Table Tennis Championship in the Individual Category. Two years later, in October 2013, Bhavina won another silver at the Asian Para table tennis championships in Beijing.
She then won a bronze in, during the International Table Tennis Federation Asian Para Table Tennis Championship 2017, in Beijing. Bhavina Patel notably became the first Indian female table tennis player in 2021 to qualify for the Paralympics. She qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, where she won a silver. She had earlier secured a spot for the 2016 Rio Paralympics in 2016 but failed to compete, after the Board failed to fill up a form on time.
Bhavina paired up alongside Sonalben Patel in the women’s table tennis doubles event at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. Bhavina beat China’s Zhang Miao during the semi-finals in the single’s event and reached the finals. She eventually lost out to China’s Zhou Ying, but won a silver, securing India’s first paralympic medal win. Throughout her Bhavina has won many several medals for India across 28 international events including world championships.